US Labor History

Lattimer Mines massacre

September 10, 1897: in Pennsylvania, Polish, Lithuanian and Slovak miners are gunned down by the Lattimer Mine’s sheriff deputies—19 dead, more than 50 wounded—during a peaceful march from Hazelton to Lattimer. Some 3,000 were marching for collective bargaining and civil liberty. The shooters were tried for murder but the jury failed to convict . [PSU article] (see February 28, 1898)

Chicago teacher strike

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Emma Goldman

September 10, 1901: a warrant was issued for Goldman’s arrest in connection with the (then) assassination attempt. Goldman gave herself up and was subjected to intensive interrogation. Though initially denied, bail was set at $20,000. She was never officially charged with a crime. (see Goldman for expanded story)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Women’s Health

September 10, 1915: William Sanger convicted re birth control literature. (from the NYT) Turbulent scenes followed the conviction…in Special Sessions of William Sanger, artist and architect, of having violated the Criminal Code in giving away a single copy of “Family Limitation,” a pamphlet on birth control written by Margaret Sanger, his wife. He spent 30 days in jail. (see March 1, 1916)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Black History

School desegregation

September 10, 1963: in January 1963, African American parents of students in Macon County, Alabama, sued the Macon County Board of Education to desegregate the county’s public schools. Though the United States Supreme Court had declared school segregation unconstitutional nearly nine years earlier, the board had taken no steps integrate local schools. In August 1963, Federal District Judge Frank Johnson ordered the school board to begin integration immediately.

The school board selected 13 African American students to integrate Tuskegee High School that fall. On September 2, 1963, the scheduled first day of integrated classes, Alabama Governor George Wallace had ordered the school closed due to “safety concerns.” The school reopened a week later, and on September 10, 1963, the second day of classes, white students began to withdraw. Within a week, all 275 white students had left the school.

Most fleeing white students enrolled at Macon Academy, a newly formed, all-white private school. In support of the school and its efforts to sidestep federal law to maintain school segregation, Governor Wallace and the school board approved the use of state funds to provide white students abandoning the public school system with scholarships to attend Macon Academy. Meanwhile, the Macon County School Board ordered Tuskegee High School closed due to low enrollment and split its remaining African American students among all-white high schools in Notasulga and Shorter, Alabama. White students in those high schools boycotted for several days and many eventually transferred to Macon Academy.

Macon-East Academy, the school relocated near Montgomery, Alabama, in 1995, and today (2015) operates as one of several private schools in the Alabama Black Belt with origins rooted in resistance to integration. As of the 2007 – 2008 school year, Macon-East Academy’s student population of more than 400 was 98% white and less than 1% African American. [NYT article] (see Sept 12)

BLACK & SHOT

September 10, 2014: Darrien Hunt was shot seven times by Saratoga Springs, Utah, police who were investigating reports of a man with a sword on at a shopping center. Hunt’s family said the sword was a replica. Police said Hunt refused to give up his sword and then started swinging it at them. An autopsy report determined that Hunt was shot seven times by officers, including several times in the back as he fled from police. The Hunt family’s attorney, Bob Sykes, disputed assertions from cops that the 22-year-old acted aggressively. “I think it’s a whitewash. I think it’s an exaggeration,” Sykes said. “I think they ignored good hard evidence to the contrary.” [NY Daily News story] (see Oct 20)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Religion and Public Education

September 10, 1945: the opening argument by Vashti McCollum’s attorney, Landon Chapman, suggested the program was sectarian and social pressure from students and teachers was used to get all students to participate. Defense attorney John Franklin indicated similar programs existed in 46 states and 80 Illinois communities.

The Baptist Joint Committee submitted an amicus brief in support of McCollum, saying, “We must not allow our religious fervor to blind us to the essential fact that no religious faith is secure when it meshes its authority with that of the state.” [NYT obit for McCollum] (see January 26, 1946)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

FREE SPEECH

September 10, 1963: a New York state court ruled on this day that “trashy” novels “have a place in our society,” and deserved the same constitutional protection as recognized literary classics.

The judge dismissed obscenity charges against three book distributors and their executives charged with selling obscene publications. He agreed that the 25 books in question were “poor writings, bad in taste, profane, offensive, disgusting and plain unvarnished trash.” Nonetheless, he ruled, they are entitled to First Amendment protection. [Today In Civil Liberties article] (see January 6, 1964)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

September 10 Music et al

You Can’t Hurry Love

Revolver

September 10 – October 21, 1966: Revolver became Billboard’s #1 album. Released in the US on August 8, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote: All the rules fell by the wayside with Revolver, as the Beatles began exploring new sonic territory, lyrical subjects, and styles of composition. It wasn’t just Lennon and McCartney, either — Harrison staked out his own dark territory with the tightly wound, cynical rocker “Taxman”; the jaunty yet dissonant “I Want to Tell You”; and “Love You To,” George‘s first and best foray into Indian music. Such explorations were bold, yet they were eclipsed by Lennon‘s trippy kaleidoscopes of sound.

Side 1

“Taxman” (George Harrison)

“Eleanor Rigby”

“Love You To” (Harrison)

“Here, There and Everywhere”

“Yellow Submarine”

“She Said She Said”

Side 2

“Good Day Sunshine”

“For No One”

“I Want to Tell You” (Harrison)

“Got to Get You into My Life”

“Tomorrow Never Knows”

From Rolling Stone magazine: Revolver signaled that in popular music, anything – any theme, any musical idea – could now be realized. And, in the case of the Beatles, would be. (see Sept 26)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Vietnam & Cultural Milestone

September 10, 1967: the second season of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Show begins with Pete Seeger appearing for the first time in 17 years since his 1950s blacklisting. He sang Waist Deep in the Big Muddy, but CBS dropped the performance when Seeger refused to edit the obviously anti-Viet Nam sentiments the old song presented. (CM, see Sept 17; Seeger, see February 25, 1968; Vietnam, see Sept 27)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Dissolution of the USSR

September 10, 1989: thousands of East Germans cross the Austria-Hungary frontier after Budapest waived border restrictions amid the largest legal exodus from eastern Europe since 1945.Video on East German exodus (see Nov 9)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Stop and Frisk Policy

September 10, 2008: a judge ordered that New York City and the NYPD turn over all UF-250 (stop-and-frisk) data for the past 10 years.

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

LGBTQ

Alan Turing

September 10, 2009: British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, made an official public apology on behalf of the British government for the way in which Turing was treated after the war. The statement read, in part: Thousands of people have come together to demand justice for Alan Turing and recognition of the appalling way he was treated. While Turing was dealt with under the law of the time, and we can’t put the clock back, his treatment was of course utterly unfair, and I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him. Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted, as he was convicted, under homophobic laws, were treated terribly. full statement[] (Turing, see December, 2011; LGBTQ, see Oct 28)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Terry Jones

September 10, 2010: Jones told NBC’s “Today” show that he will cancel Koran burning if he could meet with Rauf. Rauf insists no meeting has been planned with Jones and that he is committed to meeting with anyone “seriously committed to pursuing peace.” [Reuters article] (see Sept 11)

September 10 Peace Love Art Activism

Native Americans & Voting Rights

September 10, 2015: Alaska agreed to provide increased language assistance for voters who speak Yup’ik and Gwich’in. Natalie Landreth with the Native American Rights Fund said: “The choices that were made in the settlement open the door for Alaska Native access to the polls in a way that we have not seen before.”

Landreth said that the centerpiece of the settlement was translating the state’s official election pamphlet into Gwich’in and up to six different dialects of Yup’ik.

The pamphlet contains pre-election information on how to vote, biographical information on candidates and ballot measures. [Alaska Public article] (NA, see August 1, 2016; voting suit, see August 16 2016)

Native Americans & Environmental Issues

September 10, 2016: the federal government ordered work to stop on one segment of the project in North Dakota and asked the Texas-based company building it to “voluntarily pause” action on a wider span that an American Indian tribe says holds sacred artifacts.

The government’s order came minutes after a judge had rejected a request by the Standing Rock Sioux to halt construction of the $3.8 billion, four-state pipeline.

The tribe, whose cause drew thousands to join their protest, had challenged the Army Corps of Engineers’ decision to grant permits for the pipeline at more than 200 water crossings. Tribal leaders alleged that the project violated several federal laws and wouldharm water supplies. The tribe also said ancient sites had been disturbed during construction. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article] (NA, & EI, see Dec 4)